Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to Bluetooth-capable devices and methods of information transfer between such devices.
Description of the Related Art
Bluetooth technology provides a scheme for enabling communication devices to perform wireless communication without using cables and wires in a short range. Bluetooth technology uses a 2.4 GHz Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) radio band which does not require a license for use. A Bluetooth system supports one-to-one and one-to-multiple connections between Bluetooth devices having a Bluetooth function.
Bluetooth technology is used to connect a printer, a keyboard, or a mouse to a Personal Computer (PC) such as a laptop computer or a desktop computer without a cable. Bluetooth technology is also used in data transmission between various mobile terminals such as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, and a laptop computer. This technology is also used to wirelessly connect a headset, an earphone, or a speaker to a mobile terminal.
For communication between Bluetooth devices, pairing needs to be performed. In order for one Bluetooth device to be paired with another Bluetooth device, one of the Bluetooth devices performs an inquiry process for searching for nearby Bluetooth devices. The Bluetooth device which searches for nearby Bluetooth devices according to the inquiry process is considered a master device, and the Bluetooth device which responds to the search of the master device is considered a slave device.
The master device transmits an inquiry message for searching for the nearby Bluetooth devices. A slave device nearby the master device, upon receiving an inquiry message, sends an inquiry response message to the master device. The inquiry response message includes a Bluetooth device address of the slave device. The master device, upon receiving the inquiry response message, sends a remote name request message for requesting a remote name of the slave device to the slave device. The remote name is a name of the Bluetooth device, for example, a model name of the Bluetooth device. The slave device, upon receiving the remote name request message, sends a remote name response message including its remote name to the master device.
The master device, upon discovering one or more nearby Bluetooth devices according to the inquiry process, displays a Bluetooth device list showing names of the discovered one or more nearby Bluetooth devices through a display. Thus, a user may recognize Bluetooth devices which may be paired from the Bluetooth device list. If the user selects a Bluetooth device with which the user desires pairing from among the Bluetooth devices of the Bluetooth device list, then the master device sends a pairing request to the Bluetooth device selected by the user. Thus, pairing between the master device and the Bluetooth device selected by the user may be performed.
Meanwhile, a Bluetooth function varies from profile to profile, but generally, Bluetooth device users have a difficulty in fully knowing Bluetooth functions. Moreover, Bluetooth devices, even though having the same Bluetooth function, have different usages, such that users often have some problems in using them. In particular, to use devices having Bluetooth functions, such as a headset, a television (TV), and a car-kit, separate dedicated applications are required or the usages of such devices may be complicated.
Thus, for example, when a user desires to pair a Bluetooth device to a mobile terminal and learn how to use the Bluetooth device, he needs to obtain the necessary information for doing so. To this end, the user may search the Internet for a user's manual for that Bluetooth device and then download the manual, or download an application program (“app”) found on the Internet or in an ‘app market’ or ‘app store’. Typically, the app market or the app store is managed by a common carrier or a mobile terminal manufacturer.
As such, to use a Bluetooth device properly, the user encounters the inconvenience of searching for information associated with the Bluetooth device. Furthermore, some users may not easily recognize which application for a desired Bluetooth device needs to be downloaded, despite reading an instruction manual for that device.